The technology industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by the amalgamation of technological progress, heightened connectivity, and the urgency for businesses to enhance efficiency and competitiveness in an ever-changing marketplace and growing importance of technologies such as computer vision, machine learning, natural language processing, and swarm intelligence. The use of AI-assisted drone control technologies is rapidly growing, as drones become more ubiquitous and useful in various industries. These technologies can enhance the capabilities of drones, making them more efficient, effective, and safe to operate. In the last three years alone, there have been over 3.6 million patents filed and granted in the technology industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in Artificial Intelligence: AI-assisted drone control. Buy the report here.
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However, not all innovations are equal and nor do they follow a constant upward trend. Instead, their evolution takes the form of an S-shaped curve that reflects their typical lifecycle from early emergence to accelerating adoption, before finally stabilising and reaching maturity.
Identifying where a particular innovation is on this journey, especially those that are in the emerging and accelerating stages, is essential for understanding their current level of adoption and the likely future trajectory and impact they will have.
300+ innovations will shape the technology industry
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the technology industry using innovation intensity models built on over 2.5 million patents, there are 300+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, finite element simulation, ML-enabled blockchain networks, and generative adversarial network (GAN), are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Demand forecasting applications, intelligent embedded systems, and deep reinforcement learning are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are wearable physiological monitors, smart lighting, and smart climate control systems, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for artificial intelligence in the technology industry
AI-assisted drone control is a key innovation area in artificial intelligence
The utilisation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to manage the operation of a drone, including the autonomous navigation to a destination and obstacle avoidance, is referred to as AI-assisted drone control. The AI algorithms are capable of processing significant amounts of data from sensors, cameras, and other sources, enabling the drone to make real-time decisions and take necessary actions.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 410+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established technology companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of AI-assisted drone control.
Key players in AI-assisted drone control – a disruptive innovation in the technology industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to AI-assisted drone control
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Among the companies innovating in AI-assisted drone control, Alphabet leads. The company’s patents are aimed at methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programmes encoded on computer storage media, for implementing an interactive autonomous vehicle agent. The other prominent patent filers in the space include Ford Motor and LG.
In terms of geographical reach, Halliburton leads the pack, followed by GAMA Healthcare and BISSELL Homecare. In terms of application diversity, INRIX holds the top position, followed by Yaskawa Electric and Light & Wonder.
AI-assisted drone control is an important technology that is enabling new capabilities for drones and expanding their use in a variety of applications. By improving accuracy, efficiency, and safety, these technologies are helping to unlock the full potential of drones as a valuable tool for businesses and organisations.
To further understand how artificial intelligence is disrupting the technology industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Thematic Intelligence.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
